Minelab E-Trac vs Whites Spectra V3: End of the Debate
Posted by Jeremy HarrisDec 30
I frequently see the debate raging as to which is the better metal detector, the Minelab E-Trac or the Whites Spectra V3. I have not used either detector but fully believe in both of their abilities. Each has it’s strong points and areas where it doesn’t perform up to par, so let’s settle it once and for all. In your opinion, which is the better detector overall? Comments are appreciated justifying your reasoning.
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2 comments
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Comment by Brendan on July 8, 2010 at 12:17 am
In the end it comes down to what you want from your machine, and how you intend to use it. The sensitivity of both machines is really quite incredible and reportedly on-par, though as an ex-Minelab Explorer owner I recently turned to Whites spectra V3i for the following reasons…
Excellent customer support and service from their Scottish service center – Consistent since owning a Whites CoinMaster 6000 DI-Pro in the mid-80’s.
Prospecting mode – moving/tracking graph good for not only gold-prospecting but also scanning for hot-spots, such as settlements and trading posts.
Very high quality wireless phones so you don’t have to worry about the cord when you put the machine down to dig, and the innovative stereo disc + non-disc audio in separate ears gives you the confidence to run with higher disc while learning the machine.
Many different metering modes and extensive machine customisation capabilities.
Secured owner registration details on the machine, reducing theft value.
Very stable V3i firmware, with future firmware upgrades made available from the manufacturers.
Honesty about the actual simultaneous-frequency (3-band) technology, rather than the totally misleading 28-frequency FBS marketing hype attached to Minelab machines.
Stronger carbon-fibre lower shaft, and externally-wrapped coil wire making coil changes quicker and easier.
This is my honest appraisal, and I’ve no desire to resort to this or that is better as, in a way, that would be like comparing a sports coupe to a 4WD. People who regularly exhibit a display of tribal warface about their machines rarely understand what they are talking about, and advantages and disadvantages between models are far too multi-faceted to wrap up in a simplistic binary summary.
It would be fair to say that a wider range of coils and accessories are generally available for the Minelab machines. This however was of secondary importance when I considered the Whites advantages for my particular purposes, plus the excellent build quality and significantly lower price tag of the Whites top-line contender.
In summary, I’m extremely satisfied with my cutting-edge machine and wouldn’t swap it for anything.